Special Report
The World's Highest Grossing Movies of All Time
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Less than two weeks after its release, “Avengers: Endgame” is one of the most popular films ever released. The most recent addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe surpassed “Titanic” this past weekend to become the second highest grossing film of all time at the worldwide box office. The movie has grossed about $2.19 billion as of May 5, 2019, and is quickly approaching the record gross of $2.79 billion held by “Avatar.”
While the domestic box office remains a huge market for movies, most blockbuster films generate the majority of their theatrical grosses overseas. In some cases, the international box office accounts for more than 75% of a film’s total gross. “Avengers: Endgame” has made nearly 72% of its total box office gross outside of North America, so far.
While “Endgame” has not beat “Avatar’s” total gross, it has trumped it in at least one metric. It took 47 days for “Avatar” to pass the $2 billion mark after its release. “Endgame” accomplished this in a mere 11 days. The movie also had the best opening weekend of all time.
The Avengers film does have the advantage of belonging to the hugely popular Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. The movie had an established fanbase upon its release, which “Avatar” did not. Of the 25 movies with the highest worldwide grosses, seven are Marvel series films. Many of these are also among the highest grossing movies domestically.
Click here to see the world’s highest grossing movies of all time
To identify the top grossing films worldwide, 24/7 Tempo reviewed all time worldwide gross movie theater ticket sales from movie ticket tracking website Box Office Mojo. Ticket prices are not adjusted for inflation.
25. Skyfall (2012)
> Worldwide gross: $1.11 billion
> Domestic gross: $304.4 million (27.5% of total gross)
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24. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
> Worldwide gross: $1.12 billion
> Domestic gross: $377.8 million (33.7% of total gross)
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23. Captain Marvel (2019)
> Worldwide gross: $1.12 billion
> Domestic gross: $420.8 million (37.6% of total gross)
22. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
> Worldwide gross: $1.12 billion
> Domestic gross: $352.4 million (31.4% of total gross)
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21. Aquaman (2018)
> Worldwide gross: $1.15 billion
> Domestic gross: $335.1 million (29.2% of total gross)
20. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
> Worldwide gross: $1.15 billion
> Domestic gross: $408.1 million (35.4% of total gross)
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19. Minions (2015)
> Worldwide gross: $1.16 billion
> Domestic gross: $336.0 million (29.0% of total gross)
18. Iron Man 3 (2013)
> Worldwide gross: $1.21 billion
> Domestic gross: $409.0 million (33.7% of total gross)
17. The Fate of the Furious (2017)
> Worldwide gross: $1.24 billion
> Domestic gross: $226.0 million (18.3% of total gross)
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16. Incredibles 2 (2018)
> Worldwide gross: $1.24 billion
> Domestic gross: $608.6 million (49.0% of total gross)
15. Beauty and the Beast (2017)
> Worldwide gross: $1.26 billion
> Domestic gross: $504.0 million (39.9% of total gross)
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14. Frozen (2013)
> Worldwide gross: $1.28 billion
> Domestic gross: $400.7 million (31.4% of total gross)
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13. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
> Worldwide gross: $1.31 billion
> Domestic gross: $417.7 million (31.9% of total gross)
12. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
> Worldwide gross: $1.33 billion
> Domestic gross: $620.2 million (46.5% of total gross)
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11. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)
> Worldwide gross: $1.34 billion
> Domestic gross: $381.2 million (28.4% of total gross)
10. Black Panther (2018)
> Worldwide gross: $1.35 billion
> Domestic gross: $700.1 million (52.0% of total gross)
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9. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
> Worldwide gross: $1.41 billion
> Domestic gross: $459.0 million (32.7% of total gross)
8. Furious 7 (2015)
> Worldwide gross: $1.52 billion
> Domestic gross: $353.0 million (23.3% of total gross)
7. Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)
> Worldwide gross: $1.52 billion
> Domestic gross: $623.4 million (41.0% of total gross)
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6. Jurassic World (2015)
> Worldwide gross: $1.67 billion
> Domestic gross: $652.3 million (39.0% of total gross)
5. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
> Worldwide gross: $2.05 billion
> Domestic gross: $678.8 million (33.1% of total gross)
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4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
> Worldwide gross: $2.07 billion
> Domestic gross: $936.7 million (45.3% of total gross)
3. Titanic (1997)
> Worldwide gross: $2.19 billion
> Domestic gross: $659.4 million (30.1% of total gross)
2. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
> Worldwide gross: $2.19 billion
> Domestic gross: $619.7 million (28.3% of total gross)
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1. Avatar (2009)
> Worldwide gross: $2.79 billion
> Domestic gross: $760.5 million (27.3% of total gross)
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